Parnassus Profaned

Artists in Renaissance Rome not only copied the antique but also parodied it in sometimes sensational ways. Here the mysterious Italian engraver H. F. E. turned Raphael’s Apollo on Parnassus fresco (and Marcantonio’s print, 1919.2554) into a sinuous, sexually charged bacchanal. Like the intertwined foreground couples, the overtly amorous back- ground trees are a far cry from the upright, slender trunks in Raphael’s work. They may reference a travel literature satire by the ancient writer Lucian, in which adventurers copulate with deadly trees. Apollo’s trusty steed, Pegasus, is perhaps the most recognizable mythological figure—here unusually shown from behind—as he hurriedly flies away from the debauched company below.